Freehold or leasehold: which should a foreigner choose in Thailand

Please note. This page explains how the rules work and links to the texts of the laws. It is not legal advice: before a deal, have a lawyer who sees your contract, title deed and bank documents review them. The Office of the Council of State publishes no official English translations of these laws, so we link to the current Thai texts and mark English translations as unofficial.

What a foreigner can and cannot own

CCC here and below means Thailand’s Civil and Commercial Code.

Freehold: a condo unit

Who can own a unit

Section 19 of the Condominium Act lists the foreigners who may own a unit. Most buyers rely on item 5: a foreigner who brought foreign currency into Thailand, or withdrew money from a non-resident baht account or a foreign currency account. Foreigners with permanent residence, people admitted under the investment promotion law (BOI) and certain legal entities also qualify.

The 49% foreign quota

Under section 19 bis, foreigners together may own no more than 49% of the total floor area of all units in a condominium, as at the date the condominium was registered. The quota counts floor area, not the number of units. The rule stands as amended by Amendment No. 4 of 2008 (B.E. 2551), and the current text contains no later change to the quota.

The Land Office registers a sale to a foreigner only if the quota is not exceeded after it (s. 19 quater). You cannot check the free quota in public registers: the condominium juristic person confirms it by letter on the date of the sale. That is why for any project we treat tenure and free quota as “to be confirmed” and never publish them as facts.

Proof of money brought in

Section 19 ter requires a foreigner buying under item 5 to show at registration proof that foreign currency was brought in, or money withdrawn from a non-resident account, for at least the price of the unit.

The bank document needed for this has changed over the years:

• in 2010 the Bank of Thailand raised the threshold for the mandatory Foreign Exchange Transaction form (FET) from USD 20,000 to USD 50,000
• in 2017 the rules changed: banks issue a transaction confirmation with the remitter’s details, amount, date and purpose for any amount (item 44 of the Bank of Thailand’s consolidated FX regulations), with a 360-day transition for the old FET form
• the government portal thailand.go.th wrote in a 2023 guide about the FET form for amounts from USD 50,000 (the page is now behind bot protection, we captured the text on 17 October 2026)

We have not confirmed from an official Department of Lands text which document a given Land Office asks for today. In practice: state the purchase of a specific unit as the payment purpose, and before sending money ask the receiving bank and your lawyer which document the bank will issue.

If a foreigner stops qualifying under section 19

Sections 19 quinquies and 19 septies require a foreigner who acquired a unit without meeting the conditions (for example, inheriting above the quota) to sell it within a year. If they do not, the Director-General of the Department of Lands sells it.

Land: why foreigners cannot buy it

Section 86 of the Land Code allows a foreigner to acquire land only under an international treaty granting property rights and with ministerial approval. Section 87 caps the area, for housing at 1 rai per family. In practice there is no ordinary land purchase by a foreigner.

Land acquired by a foreigner unlawfully or without permission must be sold under section 94 within a period set by the Director-General of the Department of Lands, from 180 days to 1 year. If the owner does not sell, the department does.

The section 96 bis exception. A foreigner who invests at least THB 40 million in Thailand in the manner set by ministerial regulations may, with the minister’s approval, acquire up to 1 rai of land for housing. Conditions: the investment is kept for at least 5 years, and the plot is in Bangkok, Pattaya, within a municipality or in a residential zone under a town plan. If the land is not used for housing within 2 years of registration, the department may sell it (s. 96 ter). The 5-year period is set by the 2002 ministerial regulation; the 1999 Act itself requires the regulation to set at least 3 years, and commentary (Nishimura) treats 5 as the rule in force. The THB 40 million is separate from the price of the land. Confirm the conditions with a lawyer before applying.

Marriage to a Thai national gives a foreigner no right to land: section 86 has no exception for spouses.

Thai companies and nominees

A company in which foreigners hold more than 49% of the capital, or in which more than half the shareholders are foreigners, counts as a foreigner under the Land Code (s. 97). So schemes are built with Thai shareholders holding a formal majority on a foreigner’s behalf. The law punishes this directly:

• Land Code, s. 113: anyone who acquires land as a foreigner’s representative faces a fine of up to THB 20,000 or up to 2 years in prison, or both
• Foreign Business Act (FBA), s. 36: a nominee shareholder and the foreigner who allowed it face up to 3 years in prison or a fine of THB 100,000-1,000,000, and the court orders the holding to end, with a daily fine of THB 10,000-50,000 for non-compliance
• CCC, s. 150: a transaction whose purpose is expressly prohibited by law is void

Leasehold: leasing land and houses

Term

Section 540 CCC: immovable property cannot be leased for more than 30 years. If a contract says more, the term is cut to 30 years. At the end the lease can be renewed, but for no more than 30 years from the renewal date.

That is where the “30+30” formula used by villa developers comes from. The second 30 years are the owner’s promise to renew in the future, not a guaranteed term. A “30+30+30” structure does not make a 90-year lease either. Law firms write about Supreme Court ruling No. 4655/2566, in which pre-agreed renewal terms beyond 30 years were held invalid. We have not checked the ruling’s text, so treat this as market opinion rather than an established fact.

Registration

Section 538 CCC: a lease of immovable property for more than 3 years must be in writing and registered with the competent official, which means at the Land Office. Without registration, the lease is enforceable in court for 3 years only. A 30-year lease “signed at a notary” but not registered at the Land Office is protected for just 3 years.

Other lease points that matter

• Sale of the land does not end the lease (s. 569 CCC): the new owner takes over the previous owner’s rights and duties.
• Subletting and assignment without the owner’s consent are prohibited unless the contract says otherwise (s. 544 CCC). If you want to be able to sell your lease, spell it out in the contract.
• Commercial leases of 30-50 years exist under a separate 1999 law, but only for commerce and industry, not housing.

A house on leased land: superficies

A lease gives you the right to use the land, while the house itself can be put in your name through a right of superficies (สิทธิเหนือพื้นดิน, s. 1410 CCC): the landowner grants you the right to own buildings on the land. The right can be transferred and inherited unless the contract says otherwise (s. 1411). A fixed-term superficies is capped at 30 years (s. 1412 referring to s. 1403), but it can also be granted for life. When the right ends you may remove the buildings, and the landowner may buy them at market value (s. 1416).

Usufruct

A usufruct (สิทธิเก็บกิน, s. 1417-1418 CCC) gives the right to possess, use and take income from a property for a term or for life. It always ends on the holder’s death and cannot be inherited.

Registration fees

Specific business tax does not apply if the seller held the property for more than 5 years or had their house registration there for more than a year. Individual sellers pay withholding tax on a progressive scale not shown in the table. Under section 457 CCC, buyer and seller share the costs of the sale contract equally unless the contract says otherwise.

The reduced 0.01% fee instead of 2% has been extended to 30 June 2027, but only for Thai individual buyers and for homes where both price and appraisal are THB 7 million or less (HLB Thailand summary; we have not checked the Royal Gazette text). Foreigners do not get it, so budget the full 2%.

What to check before you buy

• The right in the contract. Freehold on the unit or a lease. “Freehold” on a developer’s website is a claim, not a document.
• The quota. A letter from the condominium juristic person confirming free foreign quota on the date of sale.
• The money transfer. Foreign currency from abroad for at least the unit price, the payment purpose, the bank’s document on receipt.
• The title. For a completed condo, the unit title deed (หนังสือกรรมสิทธิ์ห้องชุด); for land, a chanote. Condominiums with issued unit titles appear in the Treasury Department’s open register.
• Lease registration. A lease over 3 years registered at the Land Office, for no more than 30 years.
• Renewal, sublease and inheritance terms. What exactly is promised, who must renew and on what terms, whether you can sell or assign the lease.
• Rights to the house. If the land is leased, whether a superficies over the buildings is registered in your name.
• The developer and project. Company status in the DBD register, EIA approval for larger condominiums, construction stage.
• No nominee structures. If land goes into a Thai company, who really owns the shares and where the Thai shareholders’ money came from.
• Rental plans. If you plan short-term rentals, read what the law says first: Airbnb and short-term rentals in Thailand.

Buying and visas

There is no visa for buying a home. The Immigration Bureau extends the stay of an investor who buys, or leases for at least 3 years, a condo worth THB 10 million or more, for up to 1 year at a time. A THB 3 million option applies only to people who entered before 1 October 2006. For what else is claimed about “residency for a condo” and what is true, see does property give you a visa in Thailand.

Where the 2024-2026 reforms stand

Since 2024 there has been plenty of talk about Thailand raising the condo quota to 75% and allowing 99-year leases. As of 17 October 2026:

• No 75% quota. The current Condominium Act still says 49%, and we found no bill amending the quota on law.go.th or ocs.go.th. The cabinet’s 2024 instruction to study a higher quota is known from media reports.
• No 99-year leases. The only official draft amends the Sap Ing Sith Act and allows up to 99 years only for property of state agencies. According to law.go.th (captured by us on 17 October 2026), the public consultation ran from 22 August to 5 September 2025, and results were still being reviewed. The draft does not change section 540 CCC on ordinary leases, which still caps them at 30 years.

A full breakdown of the rumours: 75% quota and 99-year leases: what was actually passed.

We recheck this page every 90 days and whenever these laws change. If you need a lawyer to review the contract and title for your deal, write to us and we will find a vetted specialist.

Found an error or outdated fact? Tell the editors, we will fix it and update the check date.